“Unless people believe they can produce desired effects by their actions, they have little incentive to act. Efficacy belief, therefore, is a major basis of action. People guide their lives by their beliefs of personal efficacy.”
Dr. Albert Bandura, psychologist, researcher, Self-Efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change
Self- efficacy
Self-efficacy is the ability to define a goal, persist, and believe you are capable of doing it. When you believe in yourself, you’re motivated to follow through with it.
Psychologist Albert Bandura researched the social psychology behind the role of self-efficacy in human behavior. According to Bandura, self-efficacy beliefs are important to human behavior and you have control of your behavior.
When do you feel you're able to do something?
According to Badura, we get self-efficacy from 4 places:
1. Mastery Experiences- these are experiences that can help give you insight into your successes and failures. We all learn from failure. But when you do succeed at something, it gives you that extra boost of self-confidence. That means you’re increasing your self-efficacy beliefs with each success. So when you get good at something, you feel good about being able to do more.
2. Vicarious Experiences- these are experiences you have by watching other people do things. We gain a boost of confidence in watching others do something we might be afraid to try or don't know how to start. While it might you uncomfortable to imitate at first, seeing others do a thing is also a reminder that everyone is human. If that human being can do it, why can’t you?
3. Verbal Persuasion- this when someone hypes you up - or you hype up yourself. You know the feeling when you're nervous about trying something, and someone talks you through it and encourages you? That's a source of self efficacy. It's also true when you talk yourself into trying something and convince yourself to practice.
4. Emotional and psychological state- how you feel and what you're thinking affect self-efficacy, of course. Emotional regulation (and self-regulation) play a big role in this source of self-efficacy. It’s important to build that sense of self-awareness to identify your emotions. It’s also important to stay aware of your behaviors. Oftentimes, your body will recognize something before your mind (even though your mind is the culprit).
Psychologist Albert Bandura researched the social psychology behind the role of self-efficacy in human behavior. According to Bandura, self-efficacy beliefs are important to human behavior and you have control of your behavior.
When do you feel you're able to do something?
According to Badura, we get self-efficacy from 4 places:
1. Mastery Experiences- these are experiences that can help give you insight into your successes and failures. We all learn from failure. But when you do succeed at something, it gives you that extra boost of self-confidence. That means you’re increasing your self-efficacy beliefs with each success. So when you get good at something, you feel good about being able to do more.
2. Vicarious Experiences- these are experiences you have by watching other people do things. We gain a boost of confidence in watching others do something we might be afraid to try or don't know how to start. While it might you uncomfortable to imitate at first, seeing others do a thing is also a reminder that everyone is human. If that human being can do it, why can’t you?
3. Verbal Persuasion- this when someone hypes you up - or you hype up yourself. You know the feeling when you're nervous about trying something, and someone talks you through it and encourages you? That's a source of self efficacy. It's also true when you talk yourself into trying something and convince yourself to practice.
4. Emotional and psychological state- how you feel and what you're thinking affect self-efficacy, of course. Emotional regulation (and self-regulation) play a big role in this source of self-efficacy. It’s important to build that sense of self-awareness to identify your emotions. It’s also important to stay aware of your behaviors. Oftentimes, your body will recognize something before your mind (even though your mind is the culprit).
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How to grow self-efficacySet Goals: you'll feel better about tackling bigger things if you set goals to achieve smaller things, and actually do it. There is no better feeling than crossing something off your to-do list or finishing all your assignments. Set goals like "finish assignments by Thursday each week for one month," and watch the magical effect of growing self-efficacy! Click on Plan to download a free SMART goal worksheet.
Make time to learn new skills: learning new skills like sewing or playing an instrument helps gives you a boost of self-efficacy. The challenge of learning something new creates new pathways in your brain, which help boost your ability to think when you're anxious. It doesn't even have to be a spectacular new skill; it could be learning a new sentence in another language or how to make a perfect playdough ball. Click on Creativity for ideas. Build emotional regulation skills: By building emotional regulation skills, you’ll be better equipped to handle triggers. You can better navigate future uncertainty and change. You’ll also be more resilient to change and adapt quickly to things that might throw you off your game. Click on Identify to learn more. Build your brain power: Just like emotional regulation, self-efficacy grows with boosting your brain power. We can build the staircase from fight or flight to logic, which gives us the confidence to manage our anxiety. It’s critical to be proactive about our minds and our well-being, especially when building self-efficacy. Click on Building the Staircase to learn more. Practice self-compassion: Be kind to yourself. Words matter, especially the silent ones we mutter under our breath. But when we practice self-compassion, we’re actually building resilience. We’re better equipped to handle stress and uncertainty. If you need help drowning out your inner critic, try starting a “wins” journal. Keep a record of all of your mastery experiences and positive feedback from others. You can look back on this when you’re feeling discouraged or need an extra boost of confidence. Click on Self-Compassion to learn more. Build a solid support system- Self-efficacy, optimism and social support have been consistently related to health and functioning. Science has shown that the more support you have, the more self-efficacy you have. So, building a support system is essential to growing self-efficacy. Click on Support to learn how. |
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